Which is cheaper between Moneygram and Western Union? You may be asking yourself this question while looking to send money to friends and family abroad. Find the answer in the images below. But to summarize; Moneygram tends to be way cheaper than Western Union. That’s true whatever the amount you wish to send wherever. Western Union is more expensive than Moneygram. So, who wins the Moneygram vs Western Union debate for sending money to Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas? Clearly, it’s Moneygram! But we will let the pictures do the talking on our behalf;
Western Union vs Moneygram in Pictures: Sending $100 to Zimbabwe
If you want your receiver to get a total of $100 USD in Zimbabwe, Monegram charges you a total of $107.
If you choose, on the other hand, to use Western Union, you will have to fork out USD $116.50 for your recipient to get USD $100 in Zimbabwe. So, you are essentially paying way more, meaning Moneygram is cheaper. So, Moneygram vs Western Union? Clearly Moneygram wins this round!
Example 2: Sending $100 to India via Western Union and Moneygram
Below is what happens if you wish to send $100 to India via Western Union and Moneygram respectively. You can see that Western Union is more expensive. You will also notice that the amount that you are charged depends on the country to which you wish to send money.
Example 3: Sending $1000 to Ukraine using Moneygram and Western Union
Below is what happens when you send $1000 to the Ukraine using both Moneygram and Western Union. Again, you will see that Moneygram wins the Western Union vs Moneygram debate. It’s cheaper to use Moneygram to send money.
Factors to consider when sending money abroad
There are several factors that you need to consider when it comes to sending money from one country to another. Things are not as simple as they may appear at first;
- The amount of money that you are sending determines the charges that you are going to have to pay. So, somebody sending $100 will pay less than somebody sending $1000.
- The receiver does not pay anything when you send money via Western Union or Moneygram. They get the sent amount in full.
- Charges vary depending on country. That’s why we showed you the examples of India and Zimbabwe above. You can see that it is cheaper to send money to India than it is to Zimbabwe. That’s true whether one is using Moneygram or Western Union.
- How you send money also determines the cost. In some instances, if you are using an online bank transfer, you won’t actually need to pay anything extra.
- How the receiver gets their money also determines cost. Cash pickups tend to be more expensive than receiving money into a bank account.
- The amount of wait period before receipt of money also has a bearing on the total cost of sending money from one place to the other. The longer the wait, the less the cost. For instant cash pickups, you will have to pay more.
Summary
This has been a Western Union vs Moneygram comparison. Hope it has helped you make the right choice. In general, we can say Moneygram is cheaper than Western Union. It doesn’t matter to which country you are sending money. Moneygram is cheaper. However, you will have to take into consideration other factors. One important one is pickup points. Does the country to which you are sending money have Moneygram cash pickup points? Western Union tends to be everywhere. But Moneygram is not that widespread. So, it’s something to consider when sending money.
